UC-NRLF 


A  Solution  of 
Interests  Dependent  upon 


Fbr  Every  Nation 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Class 


A  Solution  of  Inter- 
ests Dependent  Upon 
Money,  Subsidiary 
Money,  Currency, 
Emergency  Currency, 
and  Banking  For 
Every  Nation. 


BY 


CHAS.  ALBERT  LONG 


ABERDEEN     P  U  B  L 

NEW     YORK 


I  N  G     CO 


SECOND  EDITION 


COPYRIGHT,  1910, 

BY 
CHAS.  ALBERT  LONG. 

Entered    at    Stationers'    Hall,    London,    England. 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


INTRODUCTION. 

Though  the  Bill  included  in  this  treatise 
would  unquestionably  provide  for  each  and 
all  of  the  twenty  claims  enumerated,  the  writer 
wishes  that  every  reader  would  give  especial 
attention  to  the  principles  of  its  five  funda- 
mental conditions. 

FIRST:  Money. — The  only  necessity  for  a 
Money  is  to  establish  a  definite  measure  for  all 
other  valuables. 

SECOND:  Subsidiary  Money. — All  that  is 
necessary  for  any  Nation  to  provide  for  the 
unlimited  credit  of  silver,  subject  to  the  gold 
standard  of  Money,  is  simply  to  receive  it  at 
its  value,  estimated  in  gold,  and  then  give  its 
coins  and  currency  a  proportion  of  business 
which  will  always  demand  their  use.  Is  it  pos- 
sible that  this  question,  which  has  bafHed  the 
world's  business  intelligence  for  hundreds  of 
years,  can  be  solved  in  so  simple  a  manner  ? 

THIRD.  Currency. — All  that  is  necessary 
to  enable  any  responsible  Nation  to  keep  its 
Money  entirely  to  its  own  credit,  protect  it 
from  waste  and  loss,  and  provide  for  the  liqui- 
dation of  its  bonds,  is  simply  to  make  its  cur- 
rency and  subsidiary  coins  the  only  convenient 
medium  of  exchange. 


3 

302044 


INTRODUCTION. 

FOURTH  :  Emergency  C  urr  en  c  y. — An 
emergency  currency  is  the  only  means  by 
which  any  Nation  can  protect  itself  in  war,  or 
promote  public  welfare  in  times  of  business 
cessation,  or  properly  care  for  its  citizens  in 
localities  of  great  disaster,  without  borrowing, 
or  else  taxing  the  people  in  advance  of  need. 

BANKING: — An  absolutely  safe  banking 
system  is  the  only  means  by  which  any  Nation 
can  either  protect  itself  from  financial  panics, 
or  its  banks  from  depositors'  panics. 

Fear  is  the  only  cause  of  panic  of  any  kind, 
consequently  the  only  condition  in  which  a 
financial  panic  or  a  depositors'  panic  could  oc- 
cur, is  a  fear  of  loss. 

To  provide  a  safe  banking  system  is  also  the 
only  means  by  which  any  Nation  can  protect 
responsible  bankers  from  competition  with  irre- 
sponsible ones,  or  guarantee  them  perpetual 
and  unmolested  use  of  all  of  the  Nation's  cur- 
rency. 

These  five  fundamental  conditions,  properly 
complied  with,  solve  the  problem  of  financial 
well-being  for  the  whole  world,  and  for  all 
time  to  come,  and  though  the  Bill  would  in- 
crease the  world's  comforts  of  living  billions 
of  dollars  worth  annually,  every  Nation  may 
adopt  it,  and  enjoy  its  advantages  without  cost 
or  inconvenience  to  any  one. 

THE    AUTHOR. 


MONEY 

Subsidiary  Money,  Currency 
Emergency  Currency 

and 

Banking  for  Every  Nation 

Not  only  the  world's  financiers  and  legisla- 
tors, but  its  monetary  commissioners  have  all 
failed  to  solve  national  interests  in  either 
Money,  Subsidiary  Money  or  Currency,  be- 
cause of  being  the  victims  of  two  fundamental 
mistakes. 

First,  believing  that  money  (at  least  in  part) 
meant  currency  or  a  medium  of  exchange; 
and  many,  like  the  Hon.  William  Jennings 
Bryan,  that  money  was  nothing  but  a  medium 
of  exchange:  Every  nation  has  coined  its 
money  in  small  denominations,  purposely  for 
currency  use :  while  even  to  permit  money  used 
for  a  currency  is  no  more  intelligent  than  it 
would  be  for  a  lady  to  permit  her  gold  watch 
chain  used  for  scouring  her  kitchen  utensils, 
when  one  link  of  its  hundreds  would  buy  a 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

dozen  steel  chains,  any  one  of  which  would 
scour  the  kettles  better,  and  last  a  thousand 
times  longer. 

Money  means  the  valuable,  chosen  to  be  the 
one  thing  by  whose  value  every  other  thing 
shall  be  estimated.  If,  then,  we  declare  that 
Gold  shall  be  that  thing,  and  that  coins  of  just 
so  much  of  it  shall  be  the  standard  legal  meas- 
ure for  a  certain  value,  let  me  ask: 

i  st.  Must  not  each  coin  be  protected  abso- 
lutely from  waste  to  always  be  a  correct  meas- 
ure? 

2nd.  Can  money  be  used  at  all  as  a  cur- 
rency without  waste,  and  besides  at  times  lost  ? 

3rd.  Has  not  the  world's  mistake  of  using 
Gold  as  a  currency  permitted  useless  waste  and 
loss  of  billions  of  dollars? 

The  world  has  coined  twelve  billion  dollars 
of  Gold  since  the  discovery  of  America,  not 
to  mention  the  billions  which  had  been  in  use 
before,  and  now  has  less  than  eight  billion  dol- 
lars left  out  of  all  of  it. 

4th.  Even  if  money  could  be  used  as  a  cur- 
rency without  waste  nor  ever  lost,  can  it  be 
of  any  more  value  to  any  one  as  a  currency 
than  a  currency  of  the  same  value? 

5th.     Can  not  a  currency  be  printed  for  One 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

Dollar  to  represent  a  Thousand  Dollars  of 
Gold? 

6th.  Will  simply  limiting  the  coinage  of 
Gold  to  not  less  than  $100.00  bring  it  all  to 
the  Nation's  credit,  and,  if  so,  will  it  not  be  a 
cheap  way  for  the  Government  to  get  it? 

7th.  If  a  nation  has  all  of  its  Gold  to  the 
credit  of  its  redemption  fund,  and  protected 
from  all  uses  except  the  arts  and  the  balances 
of  foreign  exchange,  could  it  not  issue  and 
maintain  the  gold  value  of  its  currency  to 
many  times  its  volume  of  Gold?  And  if  so, 
is  it  then  wise  to  use  money  as  a  currency? 

If  money  is  worth  a  thousand  times  more  to 
the  Government  than  it  will  cost  to  issue  a 
currency  to  take  its  place  among  the  people, 
would  it  not  be  intelligent  for  the  Congress 
to  take  advantage  of  it? 

What  should  we  think  of  a  farmer  who 
would  hitch  his  race  horses  to  the  plow,  or  to 
a  heavy  load  for  market — and  then  saddle  his 
draught  horses  for  the  chase?  Yet  would  it 
not  be  more  intelligent  than  for  a  nation  to 
permit  its  money  used  for  a  currency,  when  a 
currency  can  be  printed  for  $1.00  to  represent 
$1,000  of  money? 

Can  not  currency  be  just  as  valuable  to  in- 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

dividuals  as  money?  While  nothing  but 
money,  primary  or  subsidiary,  can  be  of  credit 
to  a  nation.  The  reader  of  this  bill  will  note 
that — 

Section  ist  would  not  only  make  Gold  coins 
money  the  standard  measure  of  all  values,  but 
to  keep  them  in  the  nation's  reserve  and  from 
the  waste  and  loss  incident  to  a  currency  serv- 
ice it  limits  their  coinage  to  not  less  than  One 
Hundred  Dollars;  and  besides  to  protect  them 
from  waste,  even  while  handled  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, or  being  transmitted  to  a  foreign  na- 
tion, or  to  an  artist,  it  provides  that  they  be 
encased  and  sealed  in  foil. 

The  mistake  of  using  money  as  a  currency 
has  not  only  caused  useless  waste  and  loss  of 
millions  of  our  gold  upon  one  hand,  but,  upon 
the  other,  scattered  it  among  the  people  and 
compelled  the  Government  to  borrow  it  until 
we  have  been  taxed  more  than  three  billion 
dollars  for  interest  on  public  debt,  and  are  still 
paying  about  twenty-five  million  dollars  a  year, 
while  if  the  founders  of  the  Government  had 
only  protected  its  money  from  currency  use, 
would  the  nation  ever  have  had  to  borrow  a 
dollar  or  pay  a  cent  of  interest?  and  of  far 
greater  importance,  would  not  the  nation  al- 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

ways  have  been  able  to  maintain  the  gold  value 
of  its  currency? 

The  world's  mistake  of  using  money  as  a 
currency  has  cost  it  hundreds  of  billions  for 
interest  on  public  debt  alone,  and  last  year 
compelled  its  55  nations  to  pay  $1,555,000,000, 
of  which  France  and  its  dependencies  paid  327 
million ;  England  and  her  colonies,  173  million ; 
Russia,  172  million;  Japan,  72  million;  Italy, 
130  million;  Spain,  60  million,  Germany  and 
her  States,  150  million;  Austria,  42  million; 
Hungary,  44  million,  and  even  little  Belgium 
25  million.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  every  nation 
is  distressed  with  public  expense? 

The  world's  second  fallacy  and  mistake  has 
been  in  believing  that  to  make  money — and  es- 
pecially subsidiary  money — a  legal  tender  was 
of  value  to  them;  and  that  consequently  in 
order  to  allow  them  unlimited  credit,  they 
must  be  allowed  unlimited  coinage,  and  their 
coins  made  an  unlimited  legal  tender;  while 
the  only  reason  for  making  anything  a  legal 
tender  to  any  amount  under  any  condition, 
should  be  because  of  both  its  value  and  its  con- 
venience; and  then  only  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  protecting  every  one  from  having  to  take 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

anything  of  less  value  or  of  greater  incon- 
venience. 

The  only  necessity  for  coining  money,  either 
primary  or  subsidiary,  is  for  the  sake  of  con- 
venience. 

It  is  not  necessary  at  all  to  coin  them  in 
order  to  allow  them  unlimited  credit  and  in 
contradiction  of  the  fallacy  of  a  legal  tender 
authority  being  of  any  value  to  anything,  even 
gold  itself,  coined  or  uncoined. 

The  reader  of  this  Bill  is  asked  to  note  the 
following  facts : 

First :  That,  although  the  Bill  would  make 
our  gold  coins  money — the  standard  measure 
of  all  values — they  are  not  made  a  legal  tender 
at  all  for  either  public  or  private,  and,  that  to 
do  so  would  be  wrong,  because  currency  of 
their  denominations  is  more  convenient. 

Second:  That,  while  Platinum  is  granted 
unlimited  credit,  it  is  not  made  a  legal  tender 
nor  even  permitted  coinage,  because  neither  is 
necessary.  It  is  not  needed  either  for  a  stand- 
ard measure  of  values,  or  for  subsidiary  coins, 
yet  the  miners  can  place  it  to  the  credit  of  the 
Government  and  obtain  its  gold  value  in  coin 
or  currency,  just  to  suit  their  convenience: 
while  in  behalf  of  national  interests,  it  will 


10 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

increase  both  their  credit  and  their  currency 
to  the  amount  of  its  gold  value  as  long  as 
the  nation  keeps  it. 

Third:  That  while  silver  is  granted,  not 
only  free  and  unlimited  credit,  but  also  coinage 
(so  that  every  one  may  always  get  all  they 
need,  because  its  coins  are  the  most  convenient 
small  change  of  their  value  possible  to  pro- 
vide) ;  yet  its  coins  and  currency  are  only  made 
a  very  limited  legal  tender,  and  that  not  be- 
cause it  is  of  any  value  to  them,  but  solely  to 
protect  every  one  from  having  to  take  more  of 
any  denomination  than  is  reasonably  conven- 
ient; and  the  writer  wishes  that  every  reader 
would  note  the  vast  difference  between  pro- 
tecting a  creditor  from  having  to  take  more 
than  five  coins  of  each  denomination,  (all  told, 
$4.55  in  any  one  payment,)  and  that  of  mak- 
ing silver  coins  an  unlimited  legal  tender. 

The  value  of  silver  does  not  depend  upon  its 
coins  and  currency  being  made  an  unlimited 
legal  tender  (so  that  they  may  be  imposed 
where  gold  or  anything  else  would  be  more 
convenient),  but  upon  being  allowed  just  all  it 
can  do  with  satisfaction  to  business  intelli- 
gence ;  and  if  the  Congress  will  now  only  grant 
that  silver  shall  be  responsible  for  all  our  na- 


ii 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

tion's  permanent  issues  in  less  denominations 
than  $100.00,  the  silver  miners  can  then  get 
busy,  for  they  can  never  get  enough,  because, 
possibly  9/10  of  our  transactions  are  in  de- 
nominations of  less  than  $100.00,  and  conse- 
quently the  producers  of  gold  will  have  to  buy 
millions  upon  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  sil- 
ver coins  and  currency  every  year.  This 
should  be  plain  to  every  one. 

There  are  but  two  conditions  of  the  Bill 
which  the  writer  believes  could  possibly  seem 
fallacious. 

One  is  that,  if  the  Government  should  re- 
ceive great  quantities  of  silver,  say  at  $1.00  an 
ounce,  and  then  if  ever  its  value  should  de- 
cline to  50  cents  an  ounce,  or  to  any  other 
amount,  would  not  the  Government  lose  the 
decline?  It  certainly  seems  so,  but  I  answer 
"No,"  because — 

First:  The  Government  does  not  buy  the 
silver;  and  I  submit  that  no  one  can  ever  lose 
a  dollar  in  anything  in  which  he  has  neither 
invested  nor  guaranteed  a  dollar. 

In  this  case,  the  miner  takes  the  entire  cost 
of  producing  and  delivering  the  silver  to  the 
Government,  while  the  only  expense  the  nation 
assumes  is  to  issue  a  currency  for  it,  and  take 


12 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

care  of  it;  a  cost  less  than  I  per  cent  of  its 
gold  value. 

Secondly,  making  the  nation's  currency  and 
subsidiary  coins  the  only  medium  of  exchange, 
provides  a  condition  in  which  the  nation  will 
never  have  to  redeem  its  currency. 

Consequently,  before  the  Government  could 
lose,  the  price  must  decline  more  than  99  per 
cent. ;  a  condition  utterly  impossible.  It  may 
take  a  moments  study  to  see  this,  but  it  is  so 
plain  a  fact  that  the  wonder  is  why  the  first 
person  to  ever  think  of  money  did  not  see  it. 
For  example:  If  the  miners 

should  deliver,  say 50,000,000  ozs. 

of  silver  annually,   and  its 

value    should    average    per 

oz.,  say  .60  cts. 


the  transaction  to  the  Gov- 
ernment would  stand  as 
follows $30,000,000.00 

Cost — First :  Issuing  what- 
ever subsidiary  coins  may 
be  asked  for  by  the  depos- 
itors   

Second:      Printing    the    cur- 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

rency  for  the  balance  of  its 

value 

Third :  •  Expense  of  refining 
and  taking-  care  of  the  bal- 
ance, say,  all  told $1,000,000.00 


Net  profit  to  the  Government  $29,000,000.00 
Example  in  Gold  on,  say . .   $50,000,000.00 

Cost — First :  Issuing  what- 
ever subsidiary  coins  may 
be  asked  for  by  its  deposi- 
tors   ..; 

Second:  Printing  the  cur- 
rency for  the  balance  of  it. 

Third:  Expense  of  refining, 
coining,  and  taking  care  of 
the  balance,  all  told,  say. . .  $1,000,000.00 


Net  profit  to  the  Government.   $49,000,000.00 

Besides  placing  the  Nation  in 
a  position  to  liquidate  its 
bonds  and  save  an  annual 
interest  on  public  debt  of. .  $25,000,000.00 

Total  annual  savings  and 

profits  $104,000,000.00 

Please  compare  present  prac- 
tice; Silver  not  admitted  at 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

all — Profit   to  the   Govern- 
ment    Nothing 

And  as  to  Gold,  say  on  $50,- 

000,000.00 : 

Cost — First:     Coining  what- 
ever   subsidiary    coins    the 
depositors  may  ask  for. 
Second:    Expense  of  coining 

the  balance  of  it 

Total  expense,  say $1,250,000.00 

Credit  to  the  Government . .  Nothing. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  after  125  years  under 
such  practice,  the  nation  must  run  out  and 
borrow  of  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry  at  every 
emergency?  Or  if  we  want  to  build  a  canal? 
Or  make  any  other  improvement  ? 

The  writer  hopes  that  the  vast  difference  to 
the  Treasury  of  any  nation  between  keeping 
its  money  to  its  own  credit,  and  that  of  coining 
it  at  public  expense,  and  turning  it  out  to  do 
currency  service, — a  service  which  the  nation's 
currency  can  do  as  well  and  only  cost  $1.00  of 
a  $1,000.00, — may  be  plain  to  all,  once  that 
attention  is  called  to  it.  It  will  place  every  re- 
sponsible nation  above  having  to  borrow  or 
ask  accommodation  of  any  one,  corporation, 
syndicate  or  association. 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

If  a  Nation  protects  its  Money  from  cur- 
rency service,  could  not  the  Nation  maintain 
the  gold  value  of  its  currency  to  at  least  ten 
times  its  volume  of  gold,  and  can  not  intelli- 
gence accomplish  $10.00  worth  of  business  an- 
nually with  each  dollar  of  its  currency,  and 
if  so,  should  not  every  Nation  place  itself  in 
a  condition  to  take  advantage  of  the  privilege, 
if  necessity  should  demand  it? 

It  will  only  be  a  few  hundred  years  until 
our  mines  will  be  exhausted,  while  population 
and  the  need  of  currency  will  be  increased 
many  fold.  Then,  should  we  not  for  this  rea- 
son save  and  hoard  our  precious  metals  to 
strengthen  our  nation's  reserves  in  every  pos- 
sible way  for  a  day  of  need? 

If  such  a  Bill  had  been  made  the  law,  to  be- 
gin with,  would  we  not  now  have  about  Three 
Billion  Dollars  in  Gold,  and  about  One  Billion 
Gold  Dollars'  worth  of  silver  to  the  credit  of 
our  redemption  fund,  instead  of  only  a  measly 
Hundred  and  Fifty  Million,  and  that  borrowed 
at  an  annual  interest  of  $3,000,000.00? 

The  second  condition  of  the  Bill,  which  may 
seem  fallacious,  is : 

Will  not  the  silver  interests  of  this  and  other 
nations  deposit  their  silver  for  a  currency, 


16 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

and  then  ask  gold  for  their  currency,  and  so 
take  our  gold  in  lieu  of  their  silver?  I  an- 
swer "No,"  because — 

First:  The  importation  of  silver  for  such 
purpose  is  prohibited,  by  making  it  the  duty 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  such  cases 
to  sell  instead  of  receiving  the  import. 

Second :  That  the  only  way  for  the  people 
of  this  country  to  keep  a  medium  of  exchange 
with  which  to  do  business  at  all  is  to  let  the 
Gold  stay  to  the  credit  of  the  nation,  and,  as 
has  been  said,  instead  of  the  producers  of  sil- 
ver wanting  to  deposit  it  for  Gold,  the  pro- 
ducers of  Gold  must  deposit  millions  upon  mil- 
lions of  dollars  annually  for  silver  coin  and 
currency. 

Under  the  provisions  of  this  Bill,  probably 
9/10  or  more  of  all  gold  produced  or  acquired, 
will  be  deposited  to  the  credit  of  the  Nation 
for  silver  coins  and  currency. 

Besides,  if  any  one  takes  gold  coin  from  the 
Government,  he  must  not  only  give  up  his  cur- 
rency and  all  business  possibility  to  get  it  (un- 
less he  needs  it  for  the  arts  or  to  send  abroad) 
but  he  must  take  care  of  it  at  useless  expense 
and  risk,  because  gold  coins,  in  denominations 
of  $100.00  or  multiples  would  be  of  no  use  to 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

a  bank  as  a  currency,  and  consequently  no  bank 
would  want  to  be  responsible  for  their  care,  or 
even  be  bothered  with  them  without  being 
paid?  While,  if  one  has  the  nation's  currency, 
will  the  banks  not  be  glad  to  have  it  on  deposit 
and  even  pay  interest  for  its  use  ? 

The  writer  would  ask  the  world  if  the  bill 
does  not  illustrate  every  principle  involved  in 
the  four  fundamental  conditions  necessary  in 
money : 

ist.     A  definite  standard. 

2nd.  The  greatest  possible  volume  of  it, 
both  primary  and  subsidiary. 

3rd.     For  their  most  efficient  public  use. 

4th.     For  their  most  economic  use. 

And  does  it,  or  does  it  not,  illustrate  every 
principle  involved  in  an  absolutely  safe  bank- 
ing system,  adequate  to  every  locality's  need 
for  both  savings  and  for  every  business  inter- 
est, and  better  than  is  possible  to  postal  sav- 
ings banks?  Cannot  a  local  bank  pay  more 
interest  than  the  Government?  And  if,  then, 
the  bank  is  made  as  safe  as  the  Government, 
will  it  not  be  better  for  both  the  locality  and 
the  depositor? 

Does  it,  or  does  it  not,  indicate  every  condi- 
tion necessary  to  provide  an  elastic  currency 


18 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

equal  to  both  the  emergency  of  harvest,  and 
also  for  every  possible  need  of  the  Govern- 
ment? 

And  if  so,  is  it,  or  is  it  not,  a  solution  of  the 
question  for  every  nation  and  for  all  time  to 
come? 

If  it  had  been  made  the  law  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Government,  would  the  nation — 

First :  Ever  have  had  to  borrow  a  dollar  or 
tax  the  people  for  a  single  cent  of  the  billions 
they  have  been  assessed  for  interest  on  pub- 
lic debt? 

Second :  Would  it  not  have  saved  to  the  na- 
tion's credit  the  millions  of  gold  which  have 
been  wasted  or  buried  and  forever  lost  by  its 
being  used  as  a  medium  of  exchange? 

Third:  Would  not  the  nation  always  have 
been  able  to  maintain  the  Gold  value  of  its  cur- 
rency ? 

Fourth:  Would  not  the  miners  have  pro- 
duced and  placed  to  the  nation's  credit  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  silver 
that  now  lies  in  the  ground  dormant  and  un- 
used, and  have  increased  the  nation's  business 
possibilities  with  its  currency  and  our  re- 
demption fund  (above  what  we  now  possess) 
to  the  amount  of  its  gold  value  ? 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

Fifth :  Would  any  bank  have  failed  because 
of  a  depositors'  panic,  or  any  depositor  ever 
have  lost  because  of  a  bank's  failure? 

Sixth:  Would  the  farmers  ever  have  had 
to  sacrifice  their  crops  because  of  the  lack  of 
an  emergency  currency  for  the  expense  of 
harvest  ? 

Seventh:  Would  not  the  billions  we  have 
paid  for  interest  upon  the  national  debt  have 
conserved  the  waters  of  our  great  mountain 
ranges  for  both  power  and  irrigation,  and 
opened  many  of  our  great  rivers  for  naviga- 
tion in  low  water,  and  dyked  them  for  the  pro- 
tection of  property  in  their  locality  in  times  of 
flood? 

Eighth :  Could  not  many  of  the  public  high- 
ways, over  which  we  must  yet  tread  through 
mud  in  winter  and  disagreeable  dust  in  sum- 
mer, have  long  since  been  permanently  im- 
proved by  the  laborers  who  have  at  different 
times  suffered  because  of  the  lack  of  employ- 
ment? 

If  it  is  now  made  the  law,  will  it  not  bring 
to  the  nation's  credit  what  gold  coin  we  have 
left,  amounting  to  about  $1,500,000,000,  and 
also  our  silver  dollars,  worth  about  $250,- 
000,000,  together  with  all  of  both  gold  and 


20 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

silver  we  may  ever  hereafter  acquire?  And,  if 
so,  cannot  the  Government  liquidate  its  bonds 
in  Gold  coin  at  any  time  ? 

Will  it  not  permit  silver  to  be  of  its  greatest 
possible  value  to  mankind ;  and  will  not,  to  do 
so,  soon  induce  the  miners  to  produce  and 
place  to  the  nation's  credit  millions  of  dollars' 
worth  annually  that  we  are  now  depriving  our- 
selves of? 

Will  it  not  permit  the  banks  to  get  from  the 
Government  what  currency  they  must  borrow 
for  the  emergency  of  harvest,  instead  of  hav- 
ing to  borrow  of,  and  pay  other  nations  for, 
its  use? 

Will  giving  the  banks,  in  addition  to  all  they 
now  possess,  the  perpetual  use  of  the  Govern- 
ment's current  funds  and  all  of  the  people's 
currency  now  kept  secreted,  together  with  in- 
suring them  against  depositors'  panics,  be  com- 
pensation enough  to  satisfy  them  for  comply- 
ing with  rules  of  safety? 

Will  its  adoption  involve  any  investment  or 
any  possibility  of  loss  to  the  Government,  or 
any  change  of  present  business  methods?  Will 
not  the  only  expense  be  the  return  and  re-issue 
of  the  present  coin  and  currency,  and  will  it 
not  save  more  of  waste  and  loss  of  gold  alone 


21 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

every  year  for  all  time  to  come,  as  compared 
with  present  practice  than  it  will  cost  to  adopt 
it  (not  to  mention  the  millions  annually  of  its 
advantages)  ? 

Is  it  against  any  one  of  any  class?  Is  it  not 
in  favor  of  every  one  in  every  nation  and  every 
locality?  And,  if  so — 

May  we  have  it  now,  or  must  we  be  com- 
pelled to  do  longer  without  it? 

The  writer  offered  to  show  the  administra- 
tion, twelve  years  ago,  what  the  principles 
involved  in  a  solution  of  this  question  were, 
if  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  would  only 
agree  to  recommend  that  Congress  vote  a  com- 
pensation for  the  information. 

The  Secretary  replied  that  it  was  not  prac- 
tical, and  made  his  own  recommendations. 

The  Congress  accepted  them  and  passed  the 
Act  of  March  i/j-th,  1900,  which  does  not  pro- 
vide for  even  one  of  the  twenty  conditions  pro- 
vided for  in  this  bill,  'and  was  so  inadequate  as 
to  permit  a  panic  that  cost  the  nation  hundreds, 
if  not  thousands,  of  millions,  besides  refunding 
our  public  debt  at  an  expense  of  about  $300,- 
000,000,  including  premiums  and  interest  on 
bonds  since  refunded. 

If  this  bill  had  been  made  the  law  instead  of 


22 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

that  act,  would  the  nation  have  needed  to  re- 
fund at  all,  or  could  we  have  been  the  victim 
of  any  such  panic? 

If  either  the  $300,000,000.00  of  interest  and 
expense  on  refunding  our  public  debt  or  the 
panic  could  have  been  avoided,  would  the  in- 
formation have  been  worth  or  worthy  of  a 
recommendation  for  compensation? 

If  the  Government  had  then  made  its  cur- 
rency the  only  medium  of  exchange  and  called 
in  its  Gold,  could  the  nation  not  have  paid  off 
its  bonds  in  Gold  coin  instead  of  refunding? 

If  the  entire  banking  interests  of  the  nation 
were  induced  to  become  national  banks,  and 
to  do  a  safe  business,  shall  we  ever  again  have 
to  suffer  a  financial  panic? 

Will  compelling  all  banks  to  render  a 
monthly  statement  of  their  daily  transactions 
enable  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  to 
guard  against  any  extravagance  or  reckless- 
ness which  may  result  in  loss  to  the  degree  of 
panic  ? 

Will  compelling  bank  stockholders  to  qualify 
to  the  Government  for  a  sum  of  five  times  the 
amount  of  their  stock  protect  responsible 
bankers  from  competition  with  any  not  respon- 
sible? 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

Will  authorizing  the  President  to  carry  on 
public  improvements  in  the  event  of  any  cessa- 
tion of  private  and  corporate  enterprise  be  in 
the  interests  of  both  the  nation  and  its  labor- 
ers? Or,  is  it  better,  more  intelligent,  and 
more  dignified  to  compel  the  unemployed,  in 
every  business  cessation,  to  depend  upon  char- 
ity for  maintenance,  (at  boweries  and  free  soup 
kitchens,)  while  public  interests  worth  hun- 
dreds of  millions  await  the  hand  of  labor. 

Could  not  the  idle  laborers  of  this  country, 
during  either  of  our  great  panics,  have  com- 
pleted works  that  would  be  worth  billions  of 
dollars  to  this  nation  ?  And,  further,  would  it 
not  have  been  clear  gain  to  the  nation  to  have 
it  done? 

Were  not  the  years  of  idleness  an  absolute 
loss  to  the  whole  Nation? 

Can  any  Nation  prosper  while  its  laborers 
are  idle?  Cannot  every  business  prosper,  if 
labor  is  well  employed  ? 

Does  not  prosperity  depend  absolutely  upon 
the  profitable  employment  of  labor? 

Should  we  authorize  the  administration  to 
take  control  of,  and  care  for,  the  sufferers  of 
any  great  disaster  of  fire,  flood,  cyclone,  or 
earthquake,  rendering  citizens  homeless  and 


24 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

destitute  of  food,  shelter  and  clothing?  Or, 
shall  we  continue  in  compelling  such  victims 
to  depend  upon  charity? 

Should  the  nation  make  its  forest  reserves, 
game  and  fish  preserves,  then  fence  and  patrol 
them  sufficiently  to  protect  the  timber  abso- 
lutely from  forest  fires?  Or,  shall  we  drone 
along,  permitting  fires  to  result  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  our  best 
timber  every  year. 

If  the  forest  reserves  were  fenced  so  as  to 
protect  deer  and  elk  from  carnivorous  animals, 
and  all  such  destroyed  within  the  reserves,  and 
the  streams  and  lakes  stocked  with  fish  and 
properly  fed,  should  we  not  within  a  few  years 
dispose  of  game  enough  to  pay  well  for  pro- 
tecting the  forests,  and,  besides  of  great  im- 
portance, add  their  wholesome  variety  to  our 
food? 

Shall  we  continue  to  let  the  floods  from  our 
great  mountain  ranges  rush  do\vn  the  valleys, 
destroying  millions'  worth  of  property  an- 
nually and  carrying  millions  of  dollars'  worth 
of  our  best  soil  into  the  ocean?  Or,  had  we 
better  conserve  the  water  for  both  power  and 
irrigation  and  the  soil  for  valuable  uses? 

Does  not  waste  upon  one  hand  and  loss  of 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

profit  on  the  other  amount  to  more  every  year, 
than  it  would  cost  to  save  the  waste  and  then 
forever  enjoy  the  advantages? 

The  Legislators  of  every  Nation  and  every 
student  of  National  interest  in  either  Money, 
subsidiary  Money,  Currency,  emergency  Cur- 
rency, or  Banking,  is  most  respectfully  re- 
quested to  excuse  any  fault  of  specific  expres- 
sion or  condition  of  this  Bill.  It  is  intended 
only  and  solely  as  an  example  to  illustrate  the 
principles  of  each  provision  involved. 

First.  That  the  only  necessity  for  a  money 
is  for  the  sake  of  establishing  a  measure  of 
values :  I  mean  choosing  a  thing  to  be  the  one 
by  whose  value  all  other  things  are  to  be  esti- 
mated. And  the  only  necessity  for  coining  it, 
is  for  the  sake  of  providing  correct  measures 
of  different  denominations  or  different  values. 

Second :  That  it  is  impossible  to  use  a  gold 
coin  as  a  currency  and  keep  it  a  correct  meas- 
ure. 

Third:  All  that  is  necessary  to  protect  the 
gold  coins  from  currency  use,  place  the  Nation 
in  a  position  to  liquidate  its  bonds  and  above 
ever  having  to  borrow,  is  simply  to  limit  the 
coinage  of  gold  to  a  denomination  which  will 
render  them  impractical  as  a  currency. 


26 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

Fourth :  That  to  protect  gold  coins  from 
waste  (even  when  handled  by  the  Govern- 
ment), they  must  be  encased  in  some  manner. 

Fifth :  That  to  provide  unlimited  credit  for 
silver,  or  any  other  subsidiary,  the  Nation  must 
make  its  currency  and  subsidiary  coins  the  only 
medium  of  exchange. 

Sixth :  That  to  protect  the  Subsidiaries  in 
their  rights,  they  must  be  given  a  proportion 
of  business  that  will  constantly  employ  their 
coins  and  currency.  If  silver  coins  and  cur- 
rency are  made  the  only  permanent  issues  of 
less  denominations  than  $100.00,  will  there 
ever  be  a  lack  of  demand  ? 

Seventh :  To  provide  for  the  liquidation  of 
our  interest-bearing  bonds,  we  must  place  our 
money  to  our  public  credit. 

Eighth:  To  retire,  and  reissue  all  present 
currency,  is  the  only  way  of  knowing  how 
much  we  have  in  circulation. 

Ninth:  The  standard  silver  dollar  is  a 
farce  and  will  never  circulate  (at  its  own  ex- 
pense), as  a  subsidiary;  consequently,  it 
should  be  retired. 

Tenth:  To  compel  depositors  of  National 
credits  to  take  their  currency  at  the  Treasury, 
and  their  coins  at  some  mint,  will  relieve  the 


27 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

Treasury  of  all  expense  of  circulation,  and  all 
unnecessary  coinage,  amounting  now  to  about 
one  third  of  a  million  dollars  annually. 

Eleventh:  That  to  retire  currency  when 
redeemed,  will  relieve  the  Treasury  from  re- 
peated redemption. 

Twelfth :  That  to  issue  permanent  currency 
for  gold  only,  or  the  gold  value  of  a  subsi- 
diary metal,  will  protect  the  miners  in  the  value 
of  their  product. 

Thirteenth:  To  receive  the  money  metals 
at  all  National  Banks,  will  protect  the  miners 
from  brokerage. 

Fourteenth :  That  to  protect  the  Banks 
from  depositor's  panics,  the  Nation  must 
guarantee  their  deposits. 

Fifteenth:  That  in  order  for  the  Govern- 
ment to  safely  guarantee  the  deposits,  the 
Banks  must  subscribe  to,  and  comply  with,  the 
rules  of  safety. 

Sixteenth :  That  in  order  to  know  whether 
the  Banks  comply  with  the  rules  of  safety,  the 
administration  must  know  of  their  daily  trans- 
actions. 

Seventeenth:  That  to  protect  responsible 
Bankers  from  competition  with  anyone  not  re- 
sponsible, they  must  first  be  compelled  to  qual- 


28 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

ify  for  an  amount  which  will  render  all  re- 
sponsible, and,  secondly,  all  must  comply  with 
rules  of  safety. 

Eighteenth:  To  deposit  the  Government's 
funds  with  the  Banks,  subject  to  check,  will 
add  millions  of  dollars  to  our  circulation. 

Nineteenth:  That  to  permit  all  National 
Banks  to  adopt  a  savings  loan  and  trust  de- 
partment, and  to  loan  upon  all  negotiable  se- 
curity, will  provide  a  Banking  system  adequate 
for  the  best  use  of  the  currency  and  credits  in 
every  locality. 

Twentieth :  An  emergency  currency  for  the 
expense  of  harvest,  will  be  worth  millions  an- 
nually to  the  Treasury,  and  of  incalculable 
importance  to  business  interests. 

Twenty-first:  An  emergency  currency  is 
the  only  means  by  which  any  Nation  can  avoid 
unnecessary  expense,  or  avoid  interfering  with 
the  use  of  permanent  currency.  It  is  the  only 
means  by  which  any  nation  can  do  business  in 
a  business  way. 

The  Bill  shows  how  to  provide  for  the 
greatest  possible  volume  of  money — its  most 
efficient  use  and  its  most  economic  use,  and  is 
applicable  to  the  whole  world. 

Under  its  provisions,  no  Nation  would  ever 


29 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

have  a  financial  panic,  or  any  Bank  a  de- 
positor's panic,  or  any  depositor  suffer  loss  or 
even  delay,  because  of  a  Bank's  failure. 

NOTE. — Platinum  is  included  in  the  bill 
solely  to  illustrate  the  principles  involved, 
which  will  permit  of  the  unlimited  use  of 
anything  entitled  to  currency  credit,  whether  it 
be  more  valuable  or  less  valuable  than  gold; 
and  whether  or  not  it  should  be  coined,  or 
made  a  legal  tender  to  any  amount. 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 


A  BILL. 


AN  ACT  ENTITLED  AN  ACT  TO  REVISE  ALL  PRES- 
ENT MONETARY  MEASURES,  OUR  CUR- 
RENCY SYSTEM  AND  BANKING  LAWS. 

By  providing — 

I.  For  an  absolute  Gold  standard  of  both 
money,  subsidiary  money,  and  cur- 
rency. 

2.  To  protect  Gold  from  a  currency  service. 

3.  To  place  all  money  metals  to  the  Nation's 

credit. 

4.  To  protect  the  Gold  coins   from  waste 

while  being  handled  by  the  Govern- 
ment, or  being  transmitted  to  a  for- 
eign nation,  or  to  an  artist. 

5.  For  the   free   and   unlimited   credit   of 

Gold,  Platinum,  and  Silver. 

6.  To  assign  to  each  its  respective  rights. 

7.  For  the  liquidation  of  all  interest-bearing 

bonds. 

8.  For  the  reissue  of  all  present  currency. 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

9.     To  retire  the  farce  of  a  standard  silver 
dollar. 

10.  For  relief  from  all  expense  of  circula- 

tion. 

11.  For  relief  from  repeated  redemption  of 

currency. 

12.  For  relief  from  all  unnecessary  coinage. 

13.  To  protect  the  miner  of  money  metals,  in 

both  the  value  of  his  product  and  from 
brokerage. 

14.  To    protect    the    Nation    from    financial 

panics,  the  National  Banks  from  depos- 
itor's panics,  and  their  depositors  from 
loss  in  any  event. 

15.  To    protect    responsible    bankers    from 

competition  with  any  one  not  respon- 
sible. 

1 6.  To    deposit    the    Government's    current 

funds  in  National  Banks. 

17.  For    a    National    Bank   emergency   cur- 

rency. 

1 8.  To  permit  National  Banks  to  adopt  a  sav- 

ings loan  and  trust  department. 

19.  For  an  emergency  currency  for  the  Gov- 

ernment. 

20.  For  a  separate  coloring  for  each  kind  of 

currency,  a  separate  design  for  each 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

denomination  of  every  kind,  and  for 
other  purposes,  and  especially  to  in- 
vite the  world  to  unite  in  the  adoption 
of  the  Gold  standard  of  money  with 
the  unlimited  use  of  Silver;  and  the 
provision  of  a  coin  and  currency  of 
identical  parity. 

Be  it  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  in  Congress 
assembled: 

Section  i.  That  the  legal  unit  and  stand- 
ard measure  of  all  values  within  the  United 
States  of  America,  its  territories  and  all  of  its 
dependencies,  shall  be  the  Gold  Dollar,  con- 
sisting of  23.22  grains,  Troy  weight,  which 
shall  be  coined  pure  (in  forms  to  be  the  least 
susceptible  of  abrasion),  and  in  denominations 
only  of  $100,  $200,  $500,  $1,000,  $5,000  and 
$10,000;  and  each,  when  coined,  shall  be  en- 
cased and  sealed  in  lead  or  other  foil,  sufficient 
to  protect  it  from  waste. 

Section  2.  That  if  any  person  or  persons, 
corporation,  syndicate  or  association  shall  de- 
liver and  deposit  to  the  credit  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  at  its  treasury,  any  sub- 
treasury,  mint  or  National  Bank,  pure  Gold  of 


33 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

2.322  grains,  Troy  weight,  or  any  multiple 
thereof,  or  Gold  coin  of  present  issue  and  legal 
weight,  in  amounts  of  $100.00,  or  any  mul- 
tiple thereof,  or  other  coin  containing  2.322 
grains,  Troy  weight,  or  any  multiple  thereof 
of  pure  Gold,  such  depositors  may  receive 
Gold  coin  therefor  at  our  nearest  mint;  or  in 
lieu  thereof,  they  may  receive  at  the  Treasury 
Gold  certificates  in  denominations  of  Gold 
coin;  a  legal  tender  for  all  dues,  public  and 
private  and  redeemable  upon  demand  at  the 
treasury,  any  subtreasury  or  mint,  in  Gold  coin 
of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Section  3.  That  if  such  depositors  shall  so 
deliver  pure  Gold,  or  Gold  coin  of  legal  weight 
in  any  amount,  or  pure  Platinum  or  pure  Sil- 
ver of  the  approximate  value  of  one  Gold  Dol- 
lar, or  any  multiple  or  factor  thereof,  or  in- 
terest-bearing bonds  of  the  United  States  of 
America  at  their  market  value  (together  with 
the  National  Bank  currency  issued  upon 
them),  or  any  kind  of  National  currency  or 
standard  Silver  dollars  of  legal  weight,  they 
may  receive  therefor,  at  our  nearest  mint,  Sil- 
ver or  minor  coins  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  in  denominations  of  half-dollars, 
quarter-dollars,  dimes,  nickels  or  pennies  of 


34 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

present  weight  and  fineness — each  a  legal 
tender  for  all  dues,  public  and  private,  to  any 
amount  not  exceeding  five  times  its  denomina- 
tion; or,  in  lieu  thereof,  they  may  receive,  at 
the  Treasury,  Silver  certificates  in  denomina- 
tions of  $1.00,  $2.00,  $5.00,  $10.00,  $20.00,  or 
$50.00;  each  a  legal  tender  for  all  dues,  public 
and  private,  to  any  amount  not  exceeding  ten 
times  its  denomination,  and  redeemable  upon 
demand  in  amounts  of  $100.00  or  multiples  at 
the  Treasury,  any  subtreasury,  or  mint,  in 
Gold  coin  of  the  United  States  of  America,  or 
in  pure  Platinum  or  pure  Silver  of  the  ap- 
proximate value  of  Gold  coin,  at  the  option  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

RECEPTION  AND  DISBURSEMENTS. 

Section  4.  That  all  money  metals  here- 
after received  at  any  bank  shall  always  be  sub- 
ject to  the  actual  expense  of  transmission  (in- 
cluding insurance  of  delivery)  to  our  nearest 
mint. 

Section  5.  That  the  value  of  all  subsid- 
iaries received  or  disbursed  shall  always  be 
reckoned  at  the  highest  price  quoted  in  open 
market,  unless  they  be  imported,  or,  if  more 


35 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

than  $100,000  worth  be  offered  at  a  time,  then 
they  shall  always  be  reckoned  at  the  highest 
price  bid  in  Gold  coin  of  the  United  States 
of  America  for  the  amount  offered  at  the  near- 
est exchange  to  the  place  of  offering. 

Section  6.  That  it  shall  always  be  the  duty 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  either  ac- 
cept or  reject,  in  the  interest  of  the  Govern- 
ment, any  bid  for  money  metals  offered, 
whether  on  deposit  or  on  disbursement. 

DESIGN  OF  CURRENCY. 

Section  7.  That  each  kind  of  currency  and 
each  denomination  of  every  kind  hereafter  is- 
sued shall  be  of  a  distinctly  separate  design 
and  color,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
shall  appoint  a  committee  of  three  to  deter- 
mine, if  possible,  the  most  practical  size,  de- 
sign, and  coloring  for  each  kind  and  denomina- 
tion, and  also  the  specific  form  and  dimensions 
of  the  several  Gold  coins. 

RETIREMENT   OF   PRESENT   ISSUES. 

Section  8.  That  (on  and  after  the  first  day 
of  January,  A.  D.  1912)  it  shall  be  unlawful 
to  offer  in  payment  any  other  coin  or  currency 
than  that  herein  provided  for  (except  National 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

Bank  currency)  ;  and  every  one  having  any 
other  coins  or  currency  shall  present  the  same 
before  said  date,  at  some  Government  deposi- 
tory, for  exchange  in  coin  or  currency  of  the 
kind  hereinbefore  provided  for;  and  any  fail- 
ure to  do  so  shall  be  a  misdemeanor  and  sub- 
ject any  amount  offered  thereafter  to  a  fine  of 
ten  per  cent. 

Section  9.  That  the  Treasury  Department 
shall  assume  all  expense  of  returning  the  is- 
sues to  be  retired,  and  shall  provide  each 
National  Bank  (express  paid)  with  whatever 
denominations  of  currency  (hereinbefore  pro- 
vided for)  the  public  may  demand  in  exchange 
for  their  present  issues. 

Section  10.  That  all  Gold  coin  and  all  sil- 
ver dollars  of  present  issue  shall  be  reduced 
to  bullion  and  accredited  with  all  Gold,  Silver, 
and  Platinum  on  hand  and  all  hereafter  re- 
ceived, to  a  department  of  issue  and  redemp- 
tion; and  to  which  department  all  money 
metals  and  all  coin  and  currency  hereafter 
issued  from  any  cause  shall  be  debited. 


37 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 


TO  PROTECT  NATIONAL  BANKS 
FROM  DEPOSITORS'  PANICS. 

Section  n.  That  in  the  event  of  any  Na- 
tional Bank's  suspension,  or  application  for 
suspension  without  liquidation,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  shall  take  immediate  posses- 
sion according  to  law,  and  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible ascertain  its  depositors'  dues,  and  shall 
issue  to  each  a  certificate  of  United  States 
deposit,  payable  to  order  upon  endorsement, 
and  if  necessary  shall  issue  an  emergency  cur- 
rency for  their  payment  Such  claims  against 
any  bank  shall  be  a  first  lien  upon  all  of  its  as- 
sets and  upon  its  stockholders  to  the  extent  of 
their  lawful  obligations;  and  in  the  event  of 
any  such  bank's  credits  and  stockholders'  ob- 
ligations failing  to  reimburse  the  Government 
(within  two  years)  for  every  expense  incurred 
then  every  National  Bank  shall  be  subject  to 
demand  assessment  for  their  proportion  of  the 
deficiency  reckoned  upon  the  daily  average  of 
their  respective  loans  and  discounts  for  the 
year  preceding. 

Section  12.  That  all  banks  may  become 
National  Banks,  and  all  may  adopt  a  savings, 
loan  and  trust  department,  and  continue  with- 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

out  a  deposit  of  Government  bonds  or  holding 
a  Gold  reserve,  by  complying  with  all  other 
lawful  requirements,  together  with  the  follow- 
ing terms  and  conditions: 

1.  That  every  stockholder  in  any  National 
Bank  shall  annually  qualify  to   the   Govern- 
ment, either  by  a  surety  bond  or  by  a  deed  in 
trust,  of  property  of  five  times  the  value  of 
his  stock. 

2.  That  no  National  Bank  shall  ever  place 
more  than  three-fourths  of  its  capital  to  the 
credit  of  its  savings,  loan  and  trust  depart- 
ment. 

3.  That  the  savings,  loan  and  trust  depart- 
ment shall   never  accept   deposits   subject  to 
check,  nor  issue  certificates  of  deposit  payable 
upon  demand,  nor  for  a  less  time  than  ninety 
days. 

4.  That  the  savings  department  may  nego- 
tiate loans  upon  first  mortgage  of  improved 
real  estate,  chattels,  goods,  stocks  or  bonds,  by 
and  with  the  approval  of  the  Comptroller  of 
the    Currency,    to    whom    they    shall    make 
monthly  reports  of  their  daily  transactions  in- 
cluding  their  loans   and   discounts,   with   the 
class  and  value  of  securities  taken  for  each,  to 


39 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

whom  made,  and  for  what  time ;  together  with 
their  daily  balances  of  cash  on  hand. 

5.  That  the  credits  and  reserves  of  the  sav- 
ings, loan  and  trust  department  of  every  Na- 
tional Bank  shall  be  kept  absolutely  separate 
from  the  credits  and  reserves  of  its  commercial 
department,  and  shall  never  make  a  loan  with- 
out having  in  its  own  safe  enough  legal  tender 
above  the  loan  to  meet  its  demands  at  least  five 
days  in  advance  of  their  becoming  due. 

6.  That  no  National  Bank  shall  ever  loan 
more  than  75  per  cent,  of  the  market  value  of 
securities  taken,  and  shall  reserve  (in  all  their 
mortgages,  deeds  of  trust,  and  assignments  or 
contracts   taken   for  security  of  every  kind) 
the  right  to  sell  any  or  any  part  of  securities 
held  at  any  time,  to  avoid  loss  by  its  decline 
below  a  price  necessary  to  reimburse  the  bank 
for  the  loan  with  interest  and  all  costs   in- 
curred, including  all  expense  of  court  in  case 
of  foreclosure. 

7.  That  the  commercial  department  of  a 
National  Bank  shall  never  loan  upon  securities 
whose  title  cannot  be  instantly  hypothecated 
by  assignment  of  the  bank  at  any  time.     But 
no  National  Bank  shall  ever  loan  its  securities, 
or  permit  any  securities  held  in  trust  by  either 


40 


A  Solution  of  Interests 

Dependent  upon 

MONEY 

Subsidiary  Money,  Currency 
Emergency   Currency 

and 

Banking  for  Every  Nation 
By  C.  A.  LONG 


MR.  CHAS.  ALBERT  LONG  is  a 
native  of  Oregon.     His  knowledge 
of    the    wonderful  possibilities   in 
western  farming  is  exceptional. 

He  has  visited  and  studied  almost 
every  locality  in  the  great  Northwest,  and 
is  an  expert  in  dry  land  cultivation. 

His  writing  is  the  first  to  define  either 
money  or  its  principles  as  the  reader  will 
readily  see. 

PRICE  ONE   DOLLAR 

ABERDEEN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

MASONIC  HALL 
46  WEST  24th  STREET  NEW  YORK 


A  Solution  of  Interests 

Dependent  upon 

MONEY 

Subsidiary  Money 
Currency 
Emergency  Currency 

and 

Banking  for  Every  Nation 

By 

C.  A.  LONG 

A  TREATISE,  partaking  of  the  form 
-£"~^-  of  a  bill  for  enactment  and  providing 
for  the  conditions  enumerated  on  the 
following  pages ;  prefaced  with  an 
explanation  of  why  the  world  has  failed 
to  solve  the  question,  together  with  claims 
for  the  importance  of  proper  adjustment 
and  followed  by  a  definition  of  the 
principles  involved. 

It  treats  of  the  problem  in  all  of  its 
phases  in  an  entirely  new  and  original 
manner. 

The  Bill,  enacted  for  the  Nation,  will  be 
worth  to  the  Treasury  (above  present 
practice)  about  $100,000,000  annually. 

It  shows  how  any  nation  may  provide  for  the 
unlimited  use  of  silver,  subject  to  the  gold  standard 
of  both  money,  subsidiary  money  and  currency,  and 
solves  a  problem  (worth  millions  annually)  which 
has  baffled  the  world's  legislators  and  its  monetary 
commissioners  for  ages. 

It  shows  how  any  responsible  nation  may  liquidate 
its  interest  bearing  bonds  and  place  itself  above  ever 
again  having  to  borrow.  This  would  save  the  55 
Nations  of  the  world  about  one  billion  five  hundred 
million  dollars  annual  interest  on  public  debt. 

It  shows  how  to  protect  responsible  bankers  from 
competition  with  the  irresponsible. 

It  provides  for  an  absolutely  safe  National 
banking  system  adapted  to  and  adequate  for  the  most 
efficient  use  of  the  currency  in  every  locality — so 
that  every  Bank  and  Trust  Company  may  become  a 
National  Bank. 

It  also  provides  for  an  emergency  currency  for 
every  locality  upon  banking  principles — and  shows 
how  any  responsible  Nation  may  protect  itself  abso- 
lutely from  financial  panics  and  the  Banks  from 
depositors  panics. 


A  BILL. 


AN  ACT  ENTITLED  AN  ACT  TO  REVISE 
ALL  PRESENT  MONETARY  MEASURES, 
OUR  CURRENCY  SYSTEM  AND  BANK- 
ING LAWS. 

By  providing — 

1.  For   an   absolute   Gold    standard   of 

both  money — subsidiary  money 
and  currency. 

2.  To    protect    Gold    from   a   currency 

service. 

3.  To  place  all  money  metals  to  the  Na- 

tion's credit. 

4.  To   protect   the    Gold    coins    from 

waste  while  being  handled. 

5.  For  the  free  and  unlimited  credit  of 

Gold,  Platinum,  and  Silver. 

6.  To    assign    to    each    its    respective 

rights. 

7.  For   the  liquidation   of  all   interest- 

bearing  bonds. 

8.  For  the  reissue  of  all  present  cur- 

rency. 

9.  To  retire  the  farce  of  a  standard  sil- 

ver dollar. 

10.  For  relief  from  all  expense  of  circu- 
lation. 

n.  For  relief  from  repeated  redemption 
of  currency. 

12.  For  relief  from  all  unnecessary  coin- 

age. 

13.  To    protect    the    miner    of    money 

metals,  in  both  the  value  of  his 
product  and  from  brokerage. 

14.  To  protect  the  nation  from  financial 

panics,  the  National  Banks  from 
depositors'  panics,  and  their  de- 
.positors  from  delay  or  loss  in  the 
event  of  suspension. 


15.  To  protect  responsible  bankers  from 

competition  with  the  irrespon- 
sible. 

16.  To  deposit  the  Government's  current 

funds  in    National   Banks. 

17.  For  a  National  Bank  emergency  cur- 

rency. 

18.  To    permit    all    National    Banks    to 

adopt  a  Savings,  Loan  and  Trust 
Department. 

19.  For  an  emergency  currency  for  the 

Government. 

20.  For  a  separate  coloring  for  each  kind 

of  currency,  a  separate  design  for 
each  denomination  of  every  kind, 
and  for  other  purposes,  and  espe- 
cially to  invite  the  world  to  unite 
in  the  adoption  of  the  Gold  stand- 
ard of  money  with  the  unlimited 
use  of  Silver;  and  the  provision 
of  a  coin  and  currency  of  identical 
parity. 

This  is  a  book  for  everyone  interested  in  bet- 
tering the  World's  conditions.  The  Bill  would  en- 
able every  responsible  nation  to  liquidate  its  pub- 
lic debt,  protect  itself  absolutely  from  financial 
panics,  the  banks  from  depositors'  panics,  and 
their  depositors  from  loss  in  any  event. 

It  provides  unlimited  credit  for  Silver,  and  an 
emergency  currency  for  both  every  local  and  na- 
tional need.  It  solves  the  problem  for  the  whole 
world,  and  will  immediately  be  translated  for 
every  nation.  Its  simplicity  and  conciseness 
are  marvels.  Twenty  distinct  provisions  are 
couched  in  fewer  words  than  an  act  of  the  six- 
tieth Congress  for  simply  an  emergency  currency. 

It  must  be  read  to  be  appreciated 

Just  issued.     Second  edition  now  in  press. 


Aberdeen  Publishing  Go. 

MASONIC  HALL 
46  WEST  24th  SI  REET  NEW  YORK 

Please    send    me  copies    of 

"MONEY" 

By  CHARLES  ALBERT  LONG 
for  which  find  enclosed  $ 
Name 

Address 

Dated 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

its  commercial  or  trust  department,  to  be 
loaned  for  any  purpose  whatever  (without  the 
written  consent  of  the  owner),  and  to  do  so 
shall  be  a  felony,  punishable  with  not  less  than 
one  nor  more  than  five  years'  imprisonment  at 
hard  labor. 

8.  That    the    commercial    department    of 
every  National  Bank,  situated  without  a  clear- 
ing-house, shall  set  aside,  and  keep  in  its  own 
safe  as  a  reserve  10  per  cent,  of  its  deposits, 
which  shall  never  be  used  without  the  written 
consent  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency ; 
and  every  such  bank  situated  in  a  city  having 
a  clearing-house  shall  set  aside  15  per  cent,  of 
its  deposits,  which  shall  never  be  used  without 
the  written  consent  of  the  Comptroller  of  the 
Currency   and   the  approval   of   its   clearing- 
house association. 

9.  That  the  rate  of  interest  which  either 
the  savings  and  trust  or  the  commercial  de- 
partment of  every  National  Bank  may  offer 
to  depositors  shall  not  exceed  any  uniform  rate 
which  may  be  agreed  upon  with  all  other  Na- 
tional Banks  throughout  the  city  or  town  of 
their  location,  without  notice  to  and  approval 
by  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency. 

10.  That  no   officer,   employee,   or  stock- 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

holder  of  any  National  Bank  shall  ever  bor- 
row, take,  use,  or  employ,  for  any  personal 
interest  in  any  way  or  manner,  any  of  his 
bank's  funds  without  first  assigning  to  his 
bank  collateral  (besides  the  bank's  stock  he 
may  hold),  approved  by  the  Comptroller  of 
the  Currency  to  be  security  equal  to  what 
should  be  required  of  one  not  associated  with 
the  bank;  and  for  any  officer  or  employee  of  a 
National  Bank  to  overdraw  his  account,  sub- 
ject to  check  or  to  loan,  to  himself  either  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  through  any  person  or  per- 
sons, corporation,  syndicate  or  association  in 
any  way  or  manner,  without  first  assigning  or 
taking  ample  security  above  his  stock  in  the 
bank,  shall  render  such  act  a  felony,  punish- 
able by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  for  not 
less  than  one  nor  more  than  five  years. 

II.  That  all  National  Banks  shall  act  as 
agents  for  the  Government  in  receiving  and 
delivering  its  money  metals  to  an  express  com- 
pany free  of  charge,  to  either  the  depositor  or 
to  the  Government,  except  the  actual  expense 
of  transmission. 

Section  13.  That  all  of  the  Government's 
current  funds  shall  hereafter  be  deposited  and 
kept  in  National  Banks  subject  to  check,  and 


42 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

shall  be  distributed  among  the  National  Banks 
of  the  city  of  their  collection  or  city  nearest 
their  collection,  in  proportion  to  their  paid  up 
capital.  And  hereafter,  the  failure  of  any 
National  Bank  to  pay  any  note  or  certificate 
due,  or  any  check  on  demand  (issued  by  any 
one  having  its  amount  on  deposit  subject  to 
check)  shall  render  the  bank  subject  to  im- 
mediate foreclosure,  with  all  damages  and 
costs  of  court,  including  reasonable  attorney's 
fees  (at  the  option  of  the  holder  of  such  note, 
certificate,  or  check  and  at  the  complaint  of 
such  holder),  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency 
shall  immediately  order  such  bank  closed  and 
appoint  its  receiver. 

NATIONAL  BANK  EMERGENCY  CUR- 
RENCY. 

Section  14.  That  any  National  Bank  may, 
upon  recommendation  by  the  Comptroller  of 
the  Currency,  be  permitted  an  issue  of  not 
longer  than  six  months'  circulation  for  the  ex- 
pense of  harvest  in  its  locality,  upon  the  fol- 
lowing terms  and  conditions: 

i  st.  That  it  shall  give  its  note,  signed  by 
all  of  its  acting  officials,  for  each  issue  and 


43 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

agreeing  to  pay  to  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States  one-half  of  the  bank's  rate  of  interest 
to  its  customers  for  the  entire  time  of  its  issue. 

2nd.  That  the  bank  issues  shall  be  made 
only  for  the  specific  purpose  of  harvesting  and 
delivering  to  public  warehouse,  crops  of  grain, 
hay,  wool,  hops,  fruit,  cotton,  tobacco  or  vege- 
tables, and  which  purpose  shall  always  be 
specified  with  application. 

3rd.  That  all  of  the  acting  officers  of  every 
bank,  applicant  for  an  issue  of  currency,  shall 
sign  (under  oath)  an  agreement  to  only  loan 
bank  emergency  currency  on  produce  actually 
stored  in  a  public  warehouse,  and  not  to  loan 
more  than  75  per  cent,  of  its  market  value;  to 
insure  and  keep  insured  against  damage  by  the 
elements  and  earthquake,  all  of  such  securi- 
ties to  one  and  one-quarter  the  amount  loaned 
upon  them;  also  to  hold  all  notes  and  securi- 
ties taken  for  such  loans,  together  with  their 
insurance  until  bank  currency  or  coin  or  cur- 
rency of  the  United  States  is  deposited  with 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  redeem  the 
bank's  notes,  with  all  interest  contracted  and 
cost  incurred. 

4th.  That  any  embezzlejpent  of  a  National 
Bank's  funds,  or  a  violation  of  any  obligation 


44 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

to  the  Government  required  of  National  Bank- 
ers (by  any  officer  or  employee),  shall  render 
each  and  all  of  such  offenders  guilty  of  felony 
and  punishable  by  imprisonment  for  a  term 
of  not  less  than  ten  nor  more  than  twenty-five 
years  at  hard  labor,  and  confiscation  of  all  of 
such  offender's  property  towards  or  to  the 
amount  of  their  defalcation. 

5th.     THE    NATIONAL    BANK    CURRENCY 
SHALL  READ: 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 
NATIONAL   BANK    EMERGENCY   CURRENCY 
A  legal  tender  for  all  dues  and  demands, 
to  any  amount  not  exceeding  ten  times  the 
denomination,      and     exchangeable     at     the 
Treasury  for  coin  or  currency  of  the  United 
States    of    America    at    the    option    of    the 
holder. 


6th.  National  Bank  currency  shall  be  is- 
sued by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in 
amounts  of  $25,000.00  or  multiples  at  the  ex- 
pense of  and  in  denominations  to  suit  the  ap- 
plicant, but  shall  be  of  a  distinctly  separate  de- 
sign and  coloring  from  the  United  States  is- 
sues. * 

Section     15.       GOVERNMENT    EMERGENCY 


45 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

CURRENCY  may  be  issued  upon  the  following 
conditions : — 

ist.  That  whenever,  in  the  absence  of  Con- 
gress, the  exigencies  have  convinced  the  Presi- 
dent, the  Comptroller  of  Currency,  and  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Cabinet  that  an  issue  is  necessary 
to  save  borrowing  in  providing  for  the  public 
defence  or  in  promotion  of  the  public  welfare 
pending  an  Act  of  the  Congress  collecting  per- 
manent currency  for  the  emergency,  the  Presi- 
dent may  order  an  issue  for  any  necessity  of 
the  nation — such  as  defence  in  war,  the  pur- 
chase of  right  of  way  and  construction  of  the 
national  permanent  highways,  or  of  the 
Isthmian  Canal,  improving  rivers  or  harbors 
of  importance  to  interstate  commerce,  or  car- 
ing for  sufferers  of  any  great  disaster  of  fire, 
flood,  cyclone,  earthquake,  or  other  contingen- 
cies affecting  the  general  welfare. 

2nd.  That,  in  the  event  of  any  great  na- 
tional business  depression  depriving  labor  of 
the  possibility  of  employment  by  private  or 
corporate  enterprise,  the  President  shall  ask 
for  bids  for  the  completion  of  any  public 
works  or  improvements  which  the  Congress 
may  have  authorized  (subject  to  the  condition 
that  the  contractors  shall  pay  the  employees 


46 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

not  less  than  $2.00  a  day  for  ten  hours  of 
good  labor),  and  shall,  if  necessary,  order  an 
issue  of  emergency  currency  for  the  purpose; 
and  in  the  event  of  any  great  disaster  in  any 
city  or  locality,  rendering  the  citizens  home- 
less and  destitute  to  a  degree  demanding  food, 
shelter,  or  clothing  from  other  localities,  the 
President  shall,  if  necessary,  order  an  issue  of 
emergency  currency  at  once  for  at  least  thirty 
days*  care  for  such  sufferers  and  order  imme- 
diate control  taken  for  their  relief. 

3rd.  That  National  emergency  currency 
shall  be  retired  whenever  and  as  fast  as  cur- 
rent receipts  or  a  special  revenue,  or  both,  have 
collected  the  permanent  currency  to  any 
amount  in  excess  of  the  Government's  current 
requirements.  And  whenever  enough  perma- 
nent currency  has  been  collected  (in  excess  of 
the  Government's  current  requirements)  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  emergency  and  retire 
all  of  the  emergency  issues,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  shall  suspend  the  further  collec- 
tion of  the  special  revenues  and  shall  call  in 
and  destroy  the  emergency  issues. 

4th.  National  Emergency  Currency  shall 
read: 


47 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

EMERGENCY  CURRENCY. 
A  legal  tender  for  all  dues  and  demands, 
to  any  amount  not  exceeding  ten  times  the 
denomination,  receivable  for  all  dues  of  the 
Government,  and  exchangeable  at  the  Treas- 
ury for  regular  coin  or  currency  at  the  option 
of  the  holder. 


5th.  The  National  Emergency  Currency 
shall  be  of  a  specific  design  and  coloring  of  its 
own,  but  may  be  in  any  denomination  to  suit 
the  needs  of  the  Government. 

6th.  In  the  event  of  an  emergency  issue, 
the  President  may  have  regular  silver  or  minor 
coins  issued  to  any  amount  necessary  to  ac- 
commodate the  Government,  and  all  such  coins 
shall  be  a  legal  tender  as  hereinbefore  pro- 
vided, and  may  remain  in  permanent  circula- 
tion. 

RESOLUTION. 

Resolved,  that  the  President  be  and  hereby 
is  requested  to  appoint  the  following  commis- 
sions, each  with  full  authority  to  employ  every 
assistance  necessary  to  (if  possible)  inform 
the  Congress  at  its  next  session  of  the  Na- 
tion's interests  in  each  particular : — 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

First :  FOR  A  UNIVERSAL  COIN  AND  CUR- 
RENCY. A  commission  of  one  to  negotiate 
with  every  nation  of  the  world  for  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Gold  standard  of  money  with  the 
unlimited  use  of  Silver,  and  the  provision  of  a 
coin  and  currency  of  identical  parity. 

Second:  FOR  A  SHIP  CANAL  BETWEEN 
THE  GREAT  LAKES  AND  THE  GULF  OF  MEX- 
ICO. A  commission  of  one  to  determine,  if 
possible,  the  most  practical  route  for  a  canal 
capable  of  carrying-  the  largest  vessels  probable 
of  construction  between  the  Great  Lakes  and 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  to  report  at  the  next 
session  of  the  Congress,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
the  route  of  its  location  and  the  cost  of  its  con- 
struction. 

Third:  FOR  A  NATIONAL  GOOD-ROAD  SYS- 
TEM. A  commission  of  one  to  negotiate  with 
the  officials  of  every  State  and  Territory  with 
the  view  of  ascertaining,  if  possible,  the  best 
method  of  uniting  with  the  Government  in  the 
adoption  of  a  national  permanent  good-road 
system,  in  which  and  whereby  each  State  and 
Territory  may  properly  share  in  any  fund  the 
Congress  may  provide  for  the  encouragement 
of  concerted  action  throughout  the  Nation  for 
the  construction  of  permanent  good  highways. 


49 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

Fourth:  CONSERVATION  OF  WATER.  A 
commission  of  one  to  ascertain  as  nearly  as 
possible  the  cost  of  damming  the  waters  of  all 
great  rivers  near  their  sources  with  a  view  of 
regulating  their  flow  and  providing  both  for 
power  and  for  irrigation. 

Fifth:  FENCING  FOREST  RESERVES.  A 
commission  of  one  to  ascertain  the  probable 
cost  of  woven  barbed  wire  fencing  necessary 
to  protect  each  of  our  forest  reserves  from 
either  encroachment  or  escape  of  any  animal. 
And  the  sum  of  $250,000  is  hereby  appropri- 
ated to  defray  the  expense  of  these  several 
commissions,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury is  authorized  to  pay  the  same  out  of  any 
credit  of  the  Government  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated, and  to  charge  the  same  to  the  account 
of  internal  improvements  and  universal  cur- 
rency. 

Section  16.  This  bill  shall  take  effect  and 
be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage,  and  all 
acts  and  parts  of  acts,  existing  contrary  to  or 
conflicting,  are  hereby  annulled  and  repealed. 


EXPLANATION 


In  explanation  of  the  principles  involved  in 
both  money,  subsidiary  money  and  currency, 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

and  in  compliance  with  which  the  foregoing 
bill  is  written,  I  submit: — 

i st  That  their  fundamental  principles  are 
value  and  convenience.  (If  two  kinds  of 
money  or  two  kinds  of  currency  are  of  iden- 
tical value  and  of  equal  convenience  is  there 
any  choice?) 

2nd.  That  the  most  valuable  thing  will 
provide  for  the  greatest  possible  convenience 
in  money,  because  the  greater  the  value  the 
greater  the  convenienc  in  any  great  quantity. 

If  we  had  a  money  sixteen  times  more  valu- 
able than  gold,  one  could  then  take  $16,000  in 
the  pocket  with  the  same  weight  and  conven- 
ience of  $1,000  of  gold. 

3rd.  That  the  most  valuable  standard  is 
also  indispensable  in  properly  providing  for 
the  greatest  possible  volume  of  money,  because 
all  inferiors  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  bet  sub- 
feet  to  their  superiors,  and  consequently  may 
forever  properly  act,  subject  to  their  superiors ; 
while  no  superior  can  ever  properly  act  sub- 
ject to  an  inferior;  so  if  any  nation  would 
properly  employ  everything  entitled  to  cur- 
rency credit,  they  must  honor  the  most  valu- 
able one  with  being  money ;  then,  the  less  valu- 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

able  ones  with  being  assistants — each  in  pro- 
portion to  its  value. 

So,  then  (if  this  be  true)  instead  of  the 
Gold  standard  of  money  being  a  cross  of  con- 
traction upon  which  to  crucify  the  people  and 
a  crown  of  thorns  with  which  to  distress  the 
brow  of  the  poor,  it  will,  if  it  be  the  most  valu- 
able thing  entitled  to  the  credit  of  money,  per- 
mit of  its  greatest  possible  volume. 

The  bill  also  recognizes  the  following  prin- 
ciples involved  in  the  most  efficient  and  eco- 
nomic use  of  one  or  more  subsidiaries : — 

ist.  That  everything  having  an  existence 
above  condition,  and  valuable  enough  to  rec- 
ommend its  convenience,  should  be  employed 
as  a  credit  for  currency,  because  the  possibili- 
ties of  business  intelligence  is  limited  to  its  vol- 
ume of  currency ;  so,  consequently,  in  order  to 
enjoy  what  the  Author  of  Being  has  provided 
for  us,  we  must  have  the  greatest  possible  as- 
sistance of  each  and  everything  entitled  to  cur- 
rency credit. 

2nd.  That,  to  provide  a  subsidiary  coin  and 
currency  of  the  identical  and  inseparable  repre- 
sentative value  of  their  primary,  they  must  be 
made  redeemable  in  their  primary. 

3rd.     That  in  order  for  any  Government  to 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

always  be  most  able  to  redeem  its  currency  in 
primary  money  or  even  in  its  value  of  any  sub- 
sidiary, the  Government  must  first  take  abso- 
lute control  of  all  of  them.  Then,  secondly, 
the  nation  must  make  its  currency  the  only 
medium  of  exchange,  so  as  to  always  protect 
the  Government  against  having  to  unneces- 
sarily redeem  it — neither  of  which  conditions, 
it  seems,  the  world  has  ever  understood. 

4th.  That,  to  permit  anything  to  be  de- 
prived of  any  part  of  what  it  can  do  for  us, 
would  not  only  be  to  deny  ourselves  of  what 
we  should  enjoy  from  its  service,  but  also  to 
defraud  it  of  its  value. 

5th.  That,  to  enjoy  the  greatest  possible 
service  from  a  number  of  monetary  credits,  the 
least  valuable  one  must  first  be  protected  in  all 
it  can  possibly  do  with  satisfaction  to  its  em- 
ployers ;  then,  the  next  more  valuable  one  must 
have  all  it  can  do  with  satisfaction  to  its  em- 
ployers ;  and  so  on  up  to  the  most  valuable,  be- 
cause the  principles  involved  are  like  those  of 
mechanics — in  which,  if  a  master  spends  any 
of  his  time  at  what  the  apprentice  has  learned 
to  do  and  can  do  as  well  as  he,  the  master  is 
not  only  neglecting  his  duty  to  his  employer, 


53 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

but  is  also  depriving  the  apprentice  of  what 
he  should  be  allowed  to  do. 

6th.  That  money  ought  not  to  be  made  a 
legal  tender  at  all,  because  of  its  denomina- 
tions currency  is  more  convenient,  and  no  sub- 
sidiary coin  should  be  made  a  legal  tender 
above  an  amount  in  which  it  would  not  be  the 
most  convenient  thing  possible  to  provide 
within  the  value  of  its  denominations. 

But,  in  addition  to  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  both  money  and  subsidiary  money, 
the  following  conditions  are  involved  in  their 
reception,  disbursement,  economic  and  efficient 
use. 

ist.  That  the  relative  value  of  all  of  them 
may  fluctuate,  because  of  a  fluctuation  in  their 
relative  supply. 

2nd.  Because  we  may  learn  to  produce  one 
much  more  cheaply  in  proportion  to  the  cost 
of  the  others  than  we  now  do. 

3rd.  Because  of  a  fluctuation  in  their  rela- 
tive demand. 

4th.  Upon  where  they  are,  because  it  might 
cost  more  to  get  one  delivered  to  where  it  was 
needed  than  it  would  for  the  other. 

5th.  The  amount  offered  may  also  affect 
their  relative  value,  because  no  one  will  give  as 


54 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

much  relatively  for  more  than  they  need  of 
anything  as  they  will  for  just  what  they  need, 
and  the  writer  wishes  that  every  reader  would 
note  the  vast  difference  between  the  sugges- 
tion of  permitting  silver  unlimited  credit  and 
coinage  in  compliance  with  all  of  these  five 
conditions,  and  that  of  Mr.  Bryan's  16  to  I, 
which  not  only  ignored,  but  violated  every  one 
of  them  by  attempting  to  make  Silver  of  1/16 
the  value  of  Gold  to  everybody,  everywhere, 
for  an  indefinite  time  and  in  unlimited  quanti- 
ties, when  and  whereas  it  was  not  worth  one- 
half  of  it  anywhere  to  any  one;  and  no  person, 
corporation,  syndicate,  or  association  ever,  at 
any  time  or  place,  wanted  to  buy  more  than  a 
very  limited  amount  of  it,  either  coined  or  un- 
coined. 

6th.  A  currency  may  be  just  as  valuable  to 
individuals  as  money,  while  nothing  but 
money,  primary  or  subsidiary,  can  be  of  credit 
to  a  nation's  redemption  fund. 

7th.  That,  if  a  nation  protects  its  money 
from  domestic  circulation,  it  will  constantly 
and  perpetually  have  it  all  to  its  own  credit. 

8th.  If  we  now  place  all  of  our  money  to 
the  nation's  credit,  the  Government  can  an- 
nounce that  it  has  Gold  on  hand  to  liquidate 


55 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

its  interest-bearing  bonds  at  any  time  (and 
have  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  left),  and 
so  provision  is  made  for  their  liquidation. 

Would  it  not  be  a  pleasure  to  every  patriot 
to  see  his  country  free  from  debt  and  with  bil- 
lions of  dollars  piled  up  against  a  day  of  need? 

9th.  That  to  make  the  Government's  cur- 
rency the  only  medium  of  exchange  not  only 
provides  a  condition  in  which  the  nation  will 
never  have  to  redeem  its  currency,  but  it  will 
also  induce  the  holder  of  Government  bonds  to 
take  currency  for  his  bonds  instead  of  Gold, 
though  his  bond  calls  for  Gold. 

loth.  The  Government  can  well  afford  to 
assume  the  responsibility  of  caring  for  its 
money,  because  to  do  so  would  forever  place 
it  above  having  to  borrow. 

nth.  To  protect  money  from  currency  use 
would  save,  to  the  perpetual  credit  of  the 
world,  the  millions  that  are  now  wasted  by 
abrasion  from  such  use,  besides  all  that  is  mis- 
placed and  lost. 

1 2th.  That  we  are  entitled  to  an  absolutely 
safe  place  of  deposit,  and  the  Government 
should  provide  it,  because  it  is  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  private  enterprise. 

1 3th.     That  the  Government  should  protect 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

the  National  Banks  from  depositors'  panics, 
because  no  one  else  can. 

1 4th.  To  make  National  Banks  an  abso- 
lutely safe  place  of  deposit  will  not  only  insure 
to  them  the  perpetual  use  of  their  present  de- 
posits, and  bring  to  them  millions  which  are 
now  kept  secreted,  but  it  will  justify  the  Gov- 
ernment in  permitting  them  the  use  of  its  cur- 
rent funds. 

1 5th.  That,  to  insure  the  bankers  against 
depositors'  panics  and  their  depositors  against 
loss,  will  provide  for  the  greatest  possible  sta- 
bility to  business  and  absolute  protection 
from  financial  panics. 

i6th.  The  Nation  should  protect  itself 
from  any  other  nation  depositing  any  subsid- 
iary in  lieu  of  Gold,  and  so  the  importation  of 
subsidiary  metals  for  such  purpose  is  prohib- 
ited by  the  sentences,  viz.,  "If  subsidiary  metals 
be  imported,  they  shall  always  be  reckoned  at 
the  highest  price  bid  in  Gold  coin  of  the  United 
States  of  America;"  and,  then,  making  it  the 
duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  ac- 
cept the  bid  and  sell  instead  of  receiving  the 
import. 

1 7th.  To  compel  the  depositors  of  national 
credits  to  take  their  coin  at  the  nearest  mint 


57 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

and  their  currency  at  the  Treasury  will  save 
about  one-third  of  a  million  dollars  a  year 
from  present  practice,  and  also  result  in  the 
most  economic  use  of  coins,  because  currency 
can  be  transmitted  at  so  much  less  expense. 

1 8th.  The  most  efficient  use  of  anything 
would  be  to  so  employ  it  as  to  enjoy  the  great- 
est possible  benefit  from  its  being.  In  the  case 
of  money — as  has  been  said — "If  the  founders 
of  our  Government  had  understood  and  kept 
our  money  to  the  nation's  credit,  it  would  not 
only  have  saved  the  millions  which  have  been 
lost  and  wasted  in  performing  a  currency 
service  on  one  hand,  but,  upon  the  other,  would 
have  saved  to  the  credit  of  our  redemption 
fund  about  three  billion  dollars  in  Gold  which 
we  have  had  to  pay  for  interest  on  the  public 
debt  and  besides  of  far  greater  importance  no 
one  would  have  been  compelled  to  take  the 
nation's  currency  for  more  than  it  was  worth. 

1 9th.  But  this  is  not  all :  for  after  we  have 
provided  for  the  best  and  the  greatest  possible 
volume  of  money ;  its  most  economic  and  most 
efficient  use;  a  safe  place  of  deposit;  insured 
the  banker  against  the  possibility  of  a  deposi- 
tors' panic ;  and  with  it  provide  for  the  greatest 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

possible  stability  to  business  we  are  still  enti- 
tled to  two  Emergency  Currency  acts. 

The  first  we  need  in  the  interest  of  harvest, 
which  every  year  demands  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions for  only  a  few  months ;  and  which,  if  pro- 
vided by  the  Government,  would  not  only  in- 
sure the  farmers  from  ever  again  having  to 
sacrifice  their  crops  because  of  the  lack  of  an 
emergency  currency  for  the  expense  of  har- 
vest, but  it  would  permit  the  more  constant  use 
of  our  permanent  currency  in  permanent  busi- 
ness. 

The  second  we  need  in  the  interests  of  the 
Government  itself,  with  which  to  meet  an 
emergency  of  war  or  any  other  demand  in  ex- 
cess of  current  receipts. 

Would  not  such  an  act  as  the  foregoing  have 
enabled  the  Government  to  meet  the  expense 
of  the  Spanish- American  war,  and  to  build  the 
Isthmian  Canal,  without  borrowing  and  inter- 
fering with  business  interests  at  home  (depen- 
dent upon  the  constant  employment  of  the  per- 
manent currency)  as  the  Government  did,  and 
always  must  by  asking  for  a  loan? 

Can  the  consequences  of  taking  $500,000,000 
from  private  enterprise  at  any  time  be  esti- 
mated ? 


59 


A  SOLUTION  OF  MONEY 

If  each  dollar  would  permit  private  intelli- 
gence to  accomplish  $10.00  worth  of  business 
every  year,  would  it  not  mean  $5,000,000,000 
worth  of  employment  annually? 

If  one  looks  for  the  cause  of  our  late  panic, 
would  it  be  proper  to  consider  this  item? 
Would  not  this  bill  have  spared  the  people  from 
being  taxed  for  the  millions  of  interests  we 
must  now  pay  on  what  we  have  borrowed  ? 

If  the  administration  had  been  authorized  to 
advertise  for  the  fencing  of  our  forest  re- 
serves and  completion  of  every  practical  irriga- 
tion plant  within  our  domain  when  the  panic 
of  1893,  which  resulted  in  two  million  idle 
laborers,  or  the  panic  of  1907,  which  threw 
five  hundred  thousand  laborers  out  of  employ- 
ment, could  the  nation  not  have  issued  and  in- 
vested $500,000,000.00  of  emergency  cur- 
rency, employed  the  idle  laborers,  and  sold  the 
lands  irrigated  for  enough  to  have  retired 
every  dollar  of  the  emergency  issues  within  ten 
years  ? 

Would  to  do  so  have  been  in  the  interest  of 
the  whole  nation,  or  was  it  better  to  let  panics 
run  riot,  let  the  financiers  borrow  hundreds  of 
millions  from  other  nations ;  tax  all,  to  pay  in- 
terest for  its  use, — let  business  interests  lag,  let 


60 


CURRENCY  AND  BANKING 

tens  of  thousands  lose  a  lifetime  savings,  let 
fire  destroy  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  timber;  let  waters  run  to  waste;  let 
the  arid  lands  idly  parch  for  need  of  water, 
and  let  millions  of  our  best  citizens  suffer  for 
the  want  of  wholesome  food  and  decent  cloth- 
ing dependent  upon  employment? 


THE   END. 


61 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN  INITIAL  PINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
HIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


YB  18326 


)2044 

/fO.  -53Q 


